


Cool For The Summer

by mikaylalwrites



Category: Hannah Montana (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Alternate Universe - Summer Camp, Atheism, Atheist Character, Autism, Chronic Illness, Chronic Pain, Cynical, Cynicism, Diabetes, F/F, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Leukemia, Out of Character, Pre-Season/Series 04, Religion, Religious Conflict, Summer, Summer Camp, i just wanted her to deal with her parent's divorce and stuff more here than she did in canon, lilly is anyway, she gets more into character as the fic goes on
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-18 21:20:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29124816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mikaylalwrites/pseuds/mikaylalwrites
Summary: Camp Hillstone, a camp for kids with chronic illnesses and disabilities, is miles away from home and Lilly has no interest in going. With her parents busy for the summer, she has few other options. The camp is religious and Lilly doesn't believe in God. The best she can do is suffer through. That is until she meets a certain brunette camp counselor who makes the camp less insufferable.Moved from FanFiction.
Relationships: Miley Stewart | Hannah Montana/Lilly Truscott
Comments: 2
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

Camp Hillstone was miles away from home and Lilly had no interest in going. Every other Malibu almost-senior was either working a summer job or chilling out on the beach. Lilly's mom had to go and get a boyfriend then send her to her dad's for the summer. Her dad was going on a business trip so he shipped her up to a camp for kids with chronic illnesses. It was charity work and not what she wanted to be doing this summer. She didn't really like kids and a summer sharing a room with 4 of them sounded like Hell. Also, the camp was religious and though she hadn't mentioned it to her dad yet, Lilly didn't believe in God. She didn't think instilling God's love into kids with expiration dates would help her or them. As she got into the car with her dad, she turned the volume up on the Radiohead song blasting through her headphones. Her dad didn't bother trying to make conversation until he pulled up the hill to the camp several hours later. Lilly took a long sip of the chocolate milkshake she had gotten at a burger joint in Jamestown miles back, pulled out her headphones, and looked at her dad.

"Have fun," was all he said.

"Don't count on it."

Lilly got out of the car and headed to the trunk to retrieve her luggage. She wrestled it out of her dad's tiny car and slammed the trunk with increased annoyance. She rolled her luggage to the front passenger's seat and grabbed her phone with the headphones still attached.

"Lilly?" her dad asked.

"Yes?"

He looked as if he wanted to say something important then he swallowed. "Got your bug spray?"

Lilly rolled her eyes. "Yes, Dad. I'm not 12 anymore. I can handle this."

"Counselor sign-in is at the front on the right."

"I know."

Her dad nodded and pulled out of the camp's parking lot. Lilly watched until his car disappeared from sight. She hardly spent any time with her dad but she felt a strange emotion similar to missing him. She blew out a breath, causing one of her blonde hairs to fly into her face. She pushed it to the side and walked towards the front of the camp. On the way, she saw a diverse array of kids parting with their parents for the summer and staff members with "Camp Hillstone" silkscreened onto blue t-shirts emerging from their cars. Looking at the building in front of her, Lilly had to admit she expected something different. There weren't cabins or water pumps but rather a functioning building with air conditioning. One downside she noticed immediately was that the place didn't have Wi-Fi and her cell phone didn't have service so far into the mountains.

The counselor sign-in consisted of three middle-aged women with a clipboard at a white plastic table. Lilly absentmindedly wondered whether they would make her wear one of those t-shirts. She hoped not; the graphic design on them was laughable.

"Last name?" the lady on the left asked. Her dyed bob was a crime against humanity.

"Truscott."

"Lillian?"

"No, I'm Ted," Lilly said sarcastically. "Is there another Truscott on that list of yours?"

"No…"

"Didn't think so."

"You're the counselor of Room 4," the lady said with a faux smile and then added quietly, "God help them." She handed Lilly a key, which the latter pocketed immediately. Then came the list of kids she would be sharing a room with and the medications, if any, they needed and when.

She could hear the ladies muttering amongst themselves as she walked inside the building. She didn't care what they thought of her. If she had her way, she would never see anyone at this camp again and it wouldn't matter. The lobby was full of more kids than she had seen on her way to the counselor sign-in table. They were talking amongst themselves loudly. She looked around the room, wondering what the best way to find the kids in her room would be. Then she saw her for the first time: the counselor for the room next to her. The first thing she noticed was the girl's accented voice as it bounced around the room, waiting to reach the ears of the last name she'd called. Lilly's eyes darted around the room until she found the owner of the voice: a brunette her age with the prettiest smile she had ever seen. She, like every other member of the staff, was wearing one of those horrendous Camp Hillstone t-shirts. Lilly followed suit, reading the names of her soon-to-be roommates off the list in her hand. None had arrived yet except the last one on the list who was a 12-year-old girl with a head of bouncing dark curls and a big smile.

"Kiera?" Lilly asked her without taking her eyes off the other camp counselor.

"Yeah."

"You're the first to arrive so we'll just...wait here."

Other camp counselors started calling their kids and soon the room was empty except the brunette, 3 out of 4 of her kids, Kiera, and Lilly. The next kid to arrive was the final one bunking in the brunette's room and they walked off. Lilly's attention turned to the front door after that. The stragglers entered the lobby one after the other. Lilly gathered them and they headed off to Room 4, at which point Lilly noticed the brunette from earlier was the counselor for Room 5. She allowed herself a secret smile when she saw her through the doorway. Then she walked into Room 4 to settle in. She dropped her luggage on the bare bed on the back of the room and pulled out blankets to put on the bed. Before she laid them out, she turned back to the kids.

"Everyone pick a bunk," she said. "Don't fight about it."

The kids decided which bunk was whose and silently shuffled over to put their things close by. Lilly turned back to her bed and laid out her blankets and pillows.

Then she said, "Every morning at some ungodly hour they're going to come in here and make sure it's clean. It's your job to keep your spot tidy. Don't be the guy who doesn't help out." She flipped through her clipboard. "Breakfast at 7, Lunch at 12, dinner at 5:30, don't be late yada yada yada." She looked up at the clock. "Speaking of which, it's almost 5:30, get your stuff settled and head to the mess hall. If some of you hadn't been so late we might've had more time for this."

The kids put their stuff down in a rush and headed out to the mess hall.

Upon arrival, Lily said "I assume you know what you should and shouldn't be eating. You know more about your illnesses than I do. You're big kids, you can handle it."

The kids got in line for food along with Lilly and then quickly dispersed after filling their trays. The food available was mostly spaghetti and bread then less appetizing versions of spaghetti and bread. For those who could eat it, there was also chocolate pudding. Lilly took the regular spaghetti, regular bread, a bit of salad, and pudding cup. None of her kids were at the same table and the one Room 5's counselor was sitting at was full of kids from and not from her room. She settled at an empty table in the back. Perfect, she thought, I didn't come to socialize anyway. She put in her headphones, set it to her offline playlist, and entered her own little world for the rest of dinner.

Not much happened after dinner. There was an evening bible service by the campfire she refused to be present at and then it was lights out. She had been in her bed off in space for a long while before the kids filed in for lights out.

"You weren't at Bible study," said the youngest, a 9-year-old boy called Dylan.

"That's because she doesn't want to be here," said Kiera, annoyedly.

"Yeah," Lilly affirmed. "But it's also because I don't believe in God."

Dylan gasped. "Aren't you going to Hell then?"

"No. I don't believe in Hell. Can't hurt me if I don't believe it exists."

The room went silent after that. Then the lights went out.

The next morning, at 6:30 sharp, a trumpet blared through the hall outside of Room 4. Lilly scrambled out of bed then unceremoniously flopped to the floor. She cursed and rubbed the elbow she had landed on.

"You shouldn't swear," said Dylan.

"You shouldn't tell me what to do."

Lilly hated the lack of privacy in Room 4 so she took her clothes and toiletries to find the showers at the end of the hall. There were several showers in the room and no proper places to change that weren't wet. She sighed and decided she would put her clothes over the door until she was ready to change into them. She turned on the faucet, let the water heat up, then went about washing. Then the faucet went off and her clothes went on. Then she went to the bathroom to find a plug for her blow dryer. Room 4 wasn't too far from the bathrooms so she could hear when the staff arrived to check on it if her hairdryer was set to low. She stayed in until her hair was dry and it was confirmed the room was clean.

That evening, Lilly watched Room 5's camp counselor as she talked with the kids around the campfire, unsure what to make of her. She seemed to actually like it here among the kids and the trees. While the camp didn't fit most people's definition of roughing it, Lilly wanted to be near a TV or a skate park instead of singing happy diddies by the fire and forcing religion on impressionable kids. She leaned against the wall of the lodging and pretended to be uninterested with everything. Room 5's camp counselor pulled out a guitar and began to play a song. When her voice joined it, Lilly was in awe; she never expected anyone with so much vocal talent to waste a summer babysitting. She allowed herself to get closer and take a seat on a wood log farthest away from the brunette. She noticed the song wasn't the happy-go-lucky kids movie tune she was expecting. It was real and raw. Looking at her the day before, she could have never imagined what a girl like her could be struggling with but listening to her sing about not being good enough, her mind changed. The kids were singing along with her as if they'd heard the song before. Lilly racked her brain and tried to place it but the melody didn't match anything she could come up with.

The brunette finished the song and started another; it was one that Lilly recognized and she swayed with the notes played on the guitar and the pleasant sound of the brunette's voice. Soon, the mini concert was over and the kids dispersed. Instead of following her group to their room, Lilly followed the brunette out to the lake.

"I come out here to think," she told Lilly, unprompted. "I love the kids but everything around here is so hectic. I can't just run around with them constantly."

"Do you have a habit of admitting so much to strangers?" Lilly asked her, taking a seat at the edge of the small pier that hovers over the lake. "It's not a good habit to have."

"We're not really strangers. We're volunteering together."

"I don't know your name," Lilly said matter-of-factly.

"Miley."

"Lilly."

Miley stretched out a hand and Lilly took it with a little surprise. She shook it.

"A little formal don't you think?"

Miley smiled and asked, "Want a hug?"

"No."

"Handshake it is then."

"You're talented," Lilly blurted. When Miley flashed her a confused look, she clarified: "You're a good singer. It surprised me a little."

"Why?"

"I, well, uh, shouldn't you be selling out stadiums and not singing for snot-nosed kids?" Lilly asked.

Miley scoffed. "I like it here. It's the closest I've had to home in a while. California's full of loud cities and bright lights. Sometimes I miss the small town where I'm from."

Lilly didn't say anything.

"Music's why I came out here," Miley continued. "I wanted to be a pop star. Had it all planned. I was gonna be Hannah Montana. With a blonde wig, glittery outfits, everything. Then I got diagnosed after a week of excruciating pain. I haven't stopped being in pain for more than a day since. I couldn't perform one show like that much less go on tour. My career was over before it started."

Lilly shifted uncomfortably. She didn't know what to say.

"I could still play so I wanted to bring happiness to someone. I've been coming to this camp as a counselor since I was 14. These kids, they understand me."

"You're always in pain?" Lilly asked. "Even now?"

Miley nodded. "Yeah."

Lilly had a million questions but didn't want to be expected to answer any in return. She nodded and uttered a curt goodbye to her. She returned to her bunk in a room she didn't want to be in at a summer camp she wanted nothing to do with. She thought about her friends back in Malibu and their summer beach parties as she fell asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

6:30. The same as yesterday, a horn blared in the hallway. Unlike yesterday, Lilly got out of bed begrudgingly instead of falling out of it. The two other kids were up first today. Lilly attempted to recall their names and came up with something like Stevie and Catrina. There was something off about Stevie's, she was pretty sure it was Stevie, hair. It was a natural color, auburn but it didn't seem quite attached to her head. Despite her usual bluntness, Lilly didn't dare ask. Stevie's medication list wasn't a helpful indicator of what she had. It was blank. Even if it said anything, Lilly had never been to medical school. It gave Lilly one thing to be interested in at this otherwise boring camp. She wanted to find an answer without asking. Like Sherlock Holmes.

The other girl, possibly Catrina, was a bit obvious. Her medication list had one thing and one thing only: an insulin injection. She smelled a bit like it too. Lilly hoped the girl could do it herself because she didn't like the idea of sticking a needle in anyone, let alone someone she barely knew. Lilly shook her head and turned to focus on getting her clothes and getting dressed. Once she reached the bathroom, she realized someone had followed her. It was the girl Lilly's mind had dubbed Catrina.

"Are you coming in here to change?" Lilly asked. "You might want to bring clothes next time."

The girl shook her head. "How'd you know you didn't believe in God?"

Lilly shrugged. "Not enough evidence for him."

"Believing doesn't need evidence."

"I don't see the point in saying things exist without evidence."

"I think he'd make you happy."

Lilly paused, unsure of what to say next. "I'm happy. What makes you think I'm not?"

The girl shrugged. "You're a bit mean."

"I just don't want to be here, Catrina. That's all. Thanks for the talk but I'm going to change now."

"It's Catalina, actually," the girl said quietly as Lilly moved into the shower stall to change. Lilly suddenly felt really stupid. The girl said something under her breath that Lilly swore was something like "puta." Lilly didn't speak Spanish but she knew that word and was shocked she'd been insulted so harshly by a 13-year-old.

After breakfast, the kids went off to do a variety of activities. Lilly was only interested in one: two thick ropes tied to two large trees then tied to a harness. Everyone called it "The Giant Swing" and Lilly felt it was an apt name. Once the rider was in the harness, they climbed up a ladder — they got to choose the height — and then were pulled back by pulling a rope to swing. Lilly had never seen anything like it before. She was intrigued but also terrified of the makeshift swing. The only thing that persuaded her to get in line was that Miley saw her considering it, took her hand, and pulled her along. She made Lilly go first. Lilly was suddenly nervous as she was strapped in the harness and told to walk up the ladder. She picked a middle rung and waited for it to be pulled out from under her.

Soon, she felt herself being pulled backward and her heart leaped to her throat. Everyone released and she found herself speeding toward the trees and a high speed.

A high-pitched scream burst out of her and ricochet across the trees. She was normally brave about these kinds of things but this was nothing like skateboarding. The ground was several feet below and if anything went wrong, she would become a Lilly pancake.

When the swing slowed down and the ladder reappeared, Lilly was shaking like a leaf. The next moment, she was sitting on a log with Miley, who was asking if she was alright.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," she said finally. "Shit, I thought the beta flip was wild."

"Beta flip?" Miley asked with a confused look.

"I'm a skater," Lilly explained. "Pretty good one if you ask me."

There was a pause.

"I kinda thought you were too girly for crazy outdoors things."

Miley laughed. "There's girlier than me. Besides, I lived in Crowley Corners, Tennessee until I was 10. I love the outdoors. Camping, fishing, riding horses. All of it."

Lilly scrunched her nose. "There's no way I'd ride a horse."

Miley frowned. "I haven't been able to ride one since I was diagnosed. I've been out to see my horse, Blue Jeans, but the most I can do is brush him."

"I'm sorry."

Another pause.

Lilly chuckled. "Blue Jeans?"

Miley feigned offense. "Hey! I was 4!"

"I honestly don't remember much from when I was 4."

Lilly recalled something Miley has said. "You said you came out here to have a music career, right?"

Miley nodded.

"Came out where exactly?"

"We used to live in a beach house in Malibu," Miley said. "My career didn't take off and with all the medical bills, we had to move to an apartment in the city center. California's really expensive."

Lilly laughed dryly. "Oh, trust me, I know."

"Where do you live?" Miley asked.

"Malibu too," Lilly said. "Not a big place but it's just the two of us."

"You and your dad?"

"No, my mom."

"It's just me, my dad, and my brother, Jackson."

"Your parents are divorced?"

Miley shook her head. "No, my mom's dead. She has been since fifth grade."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Lilly mumbled. Her parents were divorced but it was better than her mother being dead. She looked up at the brunette. Something about her made Lilly feel like she could be open. "My brother died a while back. All he left was his hamster. Then it died too."

"I'm sorry."

"Well, I guess that makes us even. No need to pity each other," Lilly said quickly. Then she stood up. "See you at dinner."

Miley looked taken aback. "Uh, yeah, see you at dinner."

Lilly cursed herself for how abruptly she ended that conversation. Miley was the only person at this camp she actually liked and yet she looked like she was avoiding her. She wasn't rude intentionally. Once death came about in a conversation, especially her brother's, Lilly couldn't find any comfortable way to proceed. The air was cold and stiff with loss long after the subject was dropped.

Lilly found her way back to Room 5, unsure of how she got there. When she entered, she found she wasn't alone. The air smelled like the sidewalk by the beach in Malibu: heavily of Marijuana. Lilly had never seen Stevie so pale as she was in that moment. They looked at each other in complete silence for a number of minutes.

Stevie was the one to break it. "It helps with the pain. My mom didn't want the snooty booties on the camp's committee judging her so she didn't put it on the record."

"Do you even have a prescription?"

Stevie shook her head. "My uncle grows it."

Stevie put on her best puppy dog face. "You won't tell the committee will you?"

Lilly sighed. "No. I don't think they like me anyway."

Stevie smiled. "Thanks."

"Besides, if it keeps you out of pain, I won't hold it against you. Just use air freshener after."

Stevie laughed. "Will do."

A pause.

"How old are you anyway?"

"Fifteen."

"Cancer, right?"

"Yeah. Leukemia."

Lilly bit back a 'sorry.'

"Don't bother apologizing," Stevie said. "It's been 3 years since my diagnosis. They think I'll beat it."

"You could still die," Lilly pointed out.

Stevie chuckled in a macabre way. "So could you."

"You got me there."

Stevie's cross necklace caught the light and Lilly's eyes.

"You're the cross wearing type, huh?"

Stevie clutched it with a sentimental smile. "It was a gift from Grannie. She had Leukemia too. Died a year before my diagnosis. I'm supposed to do what she couldn't."

"When I came to this camp, I expected a lot of death talk but I still hate it."

"It's a lot harder when you've been given a best by date."

Lilly had never thought about that before.

For once in many years, Lilly went to a Bible study. It was not because she changed her mind about God but rather that she wanted to stand in solidarity with Stevie and her late grandmother.

The topic of discussion was the book of Job. Lilly knew it well. It was a tale of suffering inflicted on Job by the Devil. It was a test of faith but Lilly felt it was more akin to a bet between God and Satan. Why should an innocent man suffer to prove a point? Especially if God is so benevolent?

She scanned the room and smiled when she spotted an empty seat next to Miley. Maybe she wouldn't actually have to engage in a discussion about Job. Lilly couldn't help but notice the brunette had ditched her Camp Hillstone tee for a tank top and knit coat. Silently, Lilly sank into the seat next to her.

Miley looked surprised but didn't say anything.

"I haven't come to stroke God's ego if that's what you're thinking."

"No," Miley said, then smiled."Didn't figure that."

"So...Job? Interesting guy."

Lilly leaned back in her chair. Her eyes drifted lazily to the bald preacher that was animatedly preaching Bible passages.

"I think it's a metaphor."

Lilly sat up straighter. "You do? I thought the Bible was always read literally."

"If everything in the Bible were literal, we'd live in one of those Lord of the Rings movies. And we don't."

"So is God a metaphor?"

Miley shrugged. "I don't know."

"Then why-"

"Hope is better than no hope."

Lilly's eyebrows shot up. Miley had never interrupted her before.

"Whenever we talk, we always talk about some deep shit," Miley said. Lilly never expected her to swear. "What's your favorite artist?"

Lilly felt strangely relieved. She couldn't help but smile as she said "Radiohead. What's yours?"

"I love music so much," Miley said with a joyful glint in her eye. "It was my dad when I was little. Not just the music but he was really cool. My godmother's really cool too. I used to see her on TV all the time."

Before Miley could get another word in, Lilly asked, "Wait, who's your dad? My dad's just some accountant."

"Robby Ray. He inspired my love of music."

"The 'I Want My Mullet Back' guy?" Lilly said with an amused grin. "I think I saw one of his records in a store once. Heard the song in a Target."

"That's the one."

"Who's your godmother?"

Without a hint of hesitation, Miley said, "Dolly Parton."

Lilly laughed. Not just a chuckle but a throw-her-head-back one. "Very funny. I'm serious, who is it?"

"I'm being serious," Miley said. "Look."

She pulled out a phone that was bright pink and bedazzled. Lilly held back a snort. It was really adorable, just like her. With a press of the button, and a few swipes, Miley found what she wanted. In the next second, a photo of Miley with her family, and lo and behold, Dolly fucking Parton, was in front of her. Her dad looked exactly like the Robby Ray record Lilly saw, sans mullet. Next was a smaller version of the brunette in front of her in the epitome of the 2000s: a long sleeve t-shirt under a tank top. It was hideous but somehow, little Miley made it work. A boy, older than Miley in the photo but not older than Miley now, was next. He was an absolute goober.

"Is that your brother?" Lilly asked, pointing at the boy.

Miley leaned to look at the screen. "Yeah, that's him. Stain on the Stewart family name." Miley shook her head in disappointment.

"You don't like him?"

"Ew, no," Miley said dramatically. "But he's my brother so I've gotta love him."

A pause.

"That's just how siblings are."

"Yeah, I guess I forgot."

Miley frowned. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

Lilly waved her off. "Nah, don't worry about it."

Suddenly, she asked, "Hey, want to ditch this snooze fest?"

"And do what?"

"The lake's nice this time of night."

"I don't swim," Miley said. "Not anymore."

"We don't have to. We could just put our feet in."

Miley nodded. "Okay."

It was quiet by the lake. Not eerily so but rather the comforting sort of silence. The silence only broken by the songs of the birds and crickets. They played together in dissonance that many ears would find cacophonic yet it pleased Lilly's ears. Miley seemed to like it too.

They took a seat on a dock that led partway into the lake. The moon reflected on the water and their faces. It was so luminous that it still amazed Lilly that the moon didn't create its own light. If she were artistically inclined, she would find a way to capture its beauty.

"Nights like these make me want to be able to paint."

"Not all beautiful moments are meant to be captured, I guess."

"What's your favorite star?" Miley asked.

"There are millions of stars, all exactly the same. I can't really have a favorite."

"I like that one," Miley said, pointing at a star in the center of the sky. "It's always the one I see first."

Laughing, Lilly said, "Miley, I think that's a satellite."

Miley shrugged. "So? It's pretty and in the sky."

"Birds are pretty and in the sky and they aren't stars."

"Can you just let me have this?" Lilly was sure the brunette was joking when she said it but it stung nonetheless. She mumbled a 'sorry' barely above a whisper.

"Hey, I was kidding. I'm not mad."

"It doesn't matter. I don't care."

"Yeah, you do."

"Yeah, I do." Lilly admitted.

"Relax, Lilly, I won't hurt you."

Lilly made a noise. "Pfft. Pfft. What a dumb thing to say."

"Are you ever just mad at the world?"

"Yeah," Lilly said.

"Me too."

Miley was the first to leave.

Then Lilly did as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> leave a comment/kudos if you liked this chapter

**Author's Note:**

> i posted this on fanfiction a little while ago but decided to move it here. there's very little point in having two accounts for posting fics 
> 
> if you read this, i hope you like it!!


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